standing

Savannah Takes a Stand

Posted on July 14, 2014 Updated on July 13, 2014

This entry was posted in Baby, Child Development, Family, Parenting, Standing and tagged baby, Baby Sister, family, family dinner, family time, Parenting, Savannah, standing, Stay Home PaPa.

Baby Girl Standing Tall Now

Posted on July 11, 2012 Updated on July 11, 2012

Like UFO’s, Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster and several other incidents of paranormal phenomenon, we have struggled for nearly three days without any photographic evidence of Maddie standing unassisted.

Every time I snagged the phone or a camera, Maddie would hit the deck with reckless abandon. Obviously, she didn’t want to create a stir with her newfound abilities.

Little did Maddie know as she shuffled over to me this afternoon, I had turned on the camera and hidden it from her line of sight. Like a nasty little paparazzi, I was ready to catch my daughter in the act. Sure enough, she stood up with a shoelace wrapped around her hand and a wicked little grin on her face. I let her bask in the glory of standing for a good six seconds before I snagged the camera and snapped a quick pic.

She immediately landed on her butt, but I was quick on the draw and the damage had already been done. There was finally evidence of Maddie standing like a sentinel of hope ready to disperse her unique brand of justice. For some reason, we both found this wildly entertaining and started laughing a like a couple of hyenas.

Maddie spent the rest of the day following me from room to room so she could use my leg hair to pull herself up to full attention. She’s practicing this standing thing no less than about 12 to 15 times a day. I’m not sure what her actual intent is, but you can tell that Maddie is definitely a girl with a plan.

This entry was posted in Baby, Child Development, Children, Family, Parenting, Standing and tagged baby, child development, family, Loch Ness, Loch Ness Monster, Paranormal, Parenting, raising children, Sasquatch, standing, UFO’s.

Winds of Change Taxing the Baby

Posted on May 25, 2012 Updated on May 25, 2012

I’m going to need a moment before you speak to me.

With so many developmental changes assaulting the Mad Madster, it’s no wonder she’s feeling just a bit overwhelmed right now. Today she launched a full frontal assault aimed at none other than her dear old dad.

We seemed to be having a grand old time this morning. Maddie was tearing up a magazine with great vigor and right or wrong, I was letting her pursue this course of action. However, when she tore out a page and tried to stuff it in her mouth, I had to intervene.

I grabbed the offending page as it was going into Maddie’s mouth. At the time, this seemed to be a reasonable course of action, but Maddie did not see it that way. Taking that piece of paper away from her was apparently a capital offense.

She screamed, she fussed, she pouted – and that was just the beginning. For the better part of an hour, Maddie let her dad have it and then some. She was about as angry as I have ever seen her.

It didn’t take long for me to understand that this wasn’t about the non-edible paper, but something much more complicated. I think Maddie’s rapid development is temporarily getting the best of her.

The baby is trying desperately to communicate with us. She’s working on her standing, crawling and eating skills and is meeting new people everyday. All of this stimulation has to confusing, exhausting and probably downright frightening. Maddie is also craving the one thing I obviously can’t provide for her, more female interaction.

So I have to take my lumps with a smile for now and hope she feels a little better tomorrow. There’s a great deal on her plate and she needs all the support we can offer. It’s not fun to see her struggle like this, but I know she’s a “toughie” and will bounce back happier than ever.

This entry was posted in Child Development, Childproofing, Children, Crawling, Family, Parenting and tagged baby, child development, crawling, family, Parenting, parents, standing, walking.

Maddie Stands and Delivers

Posted on May 23, 2012

IMG-20120523-00025 — I’m not sure what the big deal is

It’s all literally happened in the past ten days. We had a 9-month-old with no ambition to really crawl or stand up. In the blink of an eye, it has all changed. Maddie crawls around the house at break-neck speed and stood up for close to five minutes without any assistance this afternoon.

Maddie boycotted crawling for some time. She was transporting herself with scoots and rolls, but the crawling thing just wasn’t clicking. FEAR NOT! The girl is on a roll now and trying to slow down a force of nature is an exercise in futility.

There is no more relaxed sitting for dad unless she in held captive in her pack and play. Her attention span is equal to that of mongoose that just put away a 12-pack of Mountain Dew. So anything that falls into her field of vision pops this powerful machine into fifth gear with a touch of afterburners.

The same thing happened with Maddie and her ability to stand. We propped her up a few times and now it’s her life goal to set some kind of baby-standing endurance record. I set Maddie up on one of her toys this afternoon and she just stood there for about five minutes.

Where did all of this strength and mobility come from? This girl is a wrecking machine from the word go. I am so impressed (I know, I hide it well) but her rapid advancement is something to watch. During the time I tried to write this story, I placed her across the room at least six times – she crawled right back over to me every time.

The only problem is that it’s all happening in the blink of an eye. If anyone has any suggestions on how to slow down this amazing time with Maddie, please speak up now!

This entry was posted in Baby, Child Development, Childproofing, Children, Crawling, Family, Parenting and tagged baby, child development, Children, crawling, family, Parenting, standing.